Slovenia Weekly

PM Cerar: We should not forget about compassion, solidarity and care for fellow humans

26.02.2016

Photo: Mostphotos

Slovenians have proven many times that we can be compassionate, work together and lend a helping hand. As PM Cerar says, we should preserve our humane approach when facing the migration crisis: “We should not forget about compassion, solidarity and care for fellow humans. There are people among the migrants who need our help, particularly vulnerable groups.” PM Cerar understands people’s fears, but stresses that they are groundless. While some half a million people have passed through Slovenia in the last several months, this has not disturbed our citizens and there have been no security incidents. He gave the assurance that he would do everything to continue to keep citizens and their property safe. Cerar urged Slovenians to believe in peace, tolerance, solidarity and aid.

The Minister of Education, Science and Sport, Maja Makovec Brenčič, noted that in these times tolerance is important, particularly when it comes to unaccompanied minors, who are a very vulnerable group. In terms of integration, Slovenia strives to achieve that immigrant children are included as much as possible in the education system, and that they learn the language of the host country and socialise. According to the minister, everyone should have a right to peaceful childhood and education. Multiculturalism is becoming a part of our everyday lives, and we should try to see it as an enriching experience and an opportunity to learn about diversity.

“Since the beginning of the migration crisis, Slovenia has been active, and this activity has yielded results – our initiative to stop irregular migration has been heard, accepted and supported by a large majority of leaders of European countries. It is also the only initiative to resolve the migration crisis that has begun to be implemented,” said Prime Minister Miro Cerar at Monday’s press conference after the meeting of the European Council.

At the meeting of interior ministers on Thursday in Brussels, the Slovenian interior minister Vesna Györkös Žnidar highlighted Slovenia's difficult situation and noted that our country was a credible partner in the Schengen area, doing everything the way it is supposed to do, so there is no reason to control internal borders, particularly our border with Austria. Internal borders are not a solution, because migrants still cross them, while the free flow of people and goods, a fundamental freedom in the EU, which is particularly important to a small country such as Slovenia, suffers. The minister also said that European solutions are too slow, so “in the absence of a European solution no measure can be understood as unilateral and unconstructive if it seeks to decrease the influx of migrants". She also noted that countries along the migration route cannot simply wait for a European solution, which is what they have been doing for the last few months. "At this moment we can all agree that there is no more time,” said the minister.

The special representative for economic relations with the Western Balkans was received by Prime Minister Miro Cerar to discuss migration, both in terms of its influence on economic cooperation in the EU and the region, and the Western Balkans, where sealing the borders could quickly lead to instability or conflict. Richard also presented preparations for the summit on the Western Balkans that begins this July in Paris, which will be attended by the Slovenian PM. He stressed that Slovenia was a reliable partner to France in the EU and its approach to the countries of the Western Balkans.

At its Thursday session, the government approved the action plan of priority activities of ministries and government offices in 2016. The main government priorities are balanced public finances, fairness and safety, preserving the green environment, developing tourism, high-quality infrastructure and energy efficiency. According to PM Miro Cerar, the government will above all be focused on development, both economic and social and other areas, which can put Slovenia on the global map and enable a better life for citizens.
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The Minister of Foreign Affairs Karl Erjavec and Vesna Györkös Žnidar, the Minister of the Interior, attended a conference called "Managing Migration Together", hosted by Austria. In addition to Slovenia, Austria convened the countries on the Western Balkans migration route and those to which the wave of migration might redirect in the future.
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A special representative of the French Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, responsible for economic relations with the Balkans, Alain Richard, is visiting Slovenia. The special representative for economic relations with the Western Balkans was received by Prime Minister Miro Cerar to discuss migration, both in terms of its influence on economic cooperation in the EU and the region, and the Western Balkans, where sealing the borders could quickly lead to instability or conflict.
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On Monday, the Minister of the Interior, Vesna Györkös Žnidar, received her Croatian counterpart, Vlah Orepić, to discuss the migration situation. "Croatia is a member of the EU and it is responsible for protecting the EU’s external borders. It is also a candidate to join the Schengen area, so I am glad that the new Croatian government is fully aware of the significance of these commitments," said Györkös Žnidar, adding she was happy about Orepić’s assurance that further cooperation between Slovenia and Croatia would be based on timely communication and flow of information.
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On 23 February 2016, the Minister of Education and Science of Macedonia, Abduakjim Ademi, visited Slovenia to sign a protocol on cooperation on education, science, and research, which will be valid for the next five years, with the Slovenian Minister of Education, Science, and Sport, Maja Makovec Brenčič. This was done to strengthen the existing cooperation between the two countries on education and science.
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Slovenia's economy expanded by faster-than-expected 2.9% in real terms in 2015 on the back of a 3.3% year-on-year increase in the final quarter, the preliminary data from the statistics office show. Towards the end of the year, growth was driven by domestic consumption, which rose by 2.1% year-on-year and was propelled by a 3.7% increase in the final quarter.
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